Event Description:In May 2013, after nearly two years of planning and intensive public input, the much-anticipated New York City bike sharing program, sponsored primarily by Citi and thus named CitiBike, launched with roughly 6000 bicycles and 600 docking stations in Midtown, Lower Manhattan and West Brooklyn with plans to expand further north and east. Operated by NYC Bike Share LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share, CitiBike is the most high-profile bike sharing program in the US and, arguably, the world, joining existing systems in Hangzhou, Mexico City, London, Washington, D.C., Boston, Melbourne, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal and many others.

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In the few months since its launch, the program has added 65,000 annual members and hosted over 1.5 million cumulative trips, with daily trips increasing from roughly 6,000 at launch to over 40,000 by the end of July, capturing the attention of city planners, commuters and environmentalists across the country. Yet, many city residents are still not convinced whether CitiBike will benefit the city as a whole and not just a small segment of the population.
What are the long- and short-term implications of the CitiBike program for New Yorkers’ health, wealth and happiness? Will New York be changed forever, while leading a nationwide turn toward bicycle commuting? Can the program survive without its heavy corporate subsidies? How will the program affect the real estate market? What are the next steps in this commuting rediscovery?

Join our panel of diverse experts to discuss the NYC CitiBike Share program from the perspectives of government, business, transportation, academia, urban planning, and environmentalism to further discuss these ideas and more.